Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, Bt., A.R.A., R.W.S.

With Agnew's, London;

Where acquired by a private collector;

By whom sold, London, Christie’s, 16 June 2015, lot 14;

Where acquired by the present owner.

The Finding of Medusa is one of the most successful scenes of the 'Perseus Series' commissioned for Arthur Balfour in the 1870s to decorate his London home. It depicts Perseus encountering the serpent-haired Gorgon Medusa and her two immortal winged sisters, Euryale and Stheno, on the island of Sarpedon. He is only able to avoid being turned to stone by Medusa’s magic by seeing her through the reflection in a hand-mirror given to him by the sea-nymphs. He carries a sword to slay and behead her and a bag in which to carry her severed head. Although a finished painting did not materialise, there are two large cartoons of the composition (Southampton City Art Gallery¹ and Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart²). 

¹ https://southamptoncityartgallery.com/object/sotag-103/

² Chalk on paper, 152 x 137 cm. Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart, no. 3106.